ĐỀ CƯƠNG SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM MÔN CÔNG NGHỆ 11 TRƯỜNG THPT NGUYỄN DUY TRNH SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO NGHỆ AN SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ĐỀ TÀI GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS EFFECTIVE TOOLS FOR TEACHING WRITING SKIL[.]
SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO NGHỆ AN - SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ĐỀ TÀI: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS - EFFECTIVE TOOLS FOR TEACHING WRITING SKILL IN THE NEW “TIENG ANH 10” TEXTBOOK MÔN: TIẾNG ANH Năm học: 2020-2021 skkn SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO NGHỆ AN TRƯỜNG THPT NGUYỄN DUY TRINH - SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ĐỀ TÀI: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS - EFFECTIVE TOOLS FOR TEACHING WRITING SKILL IN THE NEW “TIENG ANH 10” TEXTBOOK GV: NGUYỄN THỊ THU HÀ MÔN: TIẾNG ANH Năm học: 2020-2021 INDEX skkn Parts PART I Contents Pages INTRODUCTION 1 Reason for choosing the study Purpose of the study PART II THE STUDY 1.Theoretical considerations 1.1 Definitions of writing 1.2 The importance of writing 1.3 Difficulty of teaching writing 1.4 Effective writing teaching requirements 1.5 Graphic organizers 1.6 Students’ attitudes towards writing The reality of teaching and learning writing at Nguyen Duy Trinh high schools 2.1 The teacher’s and students’ attitudes towards the teaching and learning of writing 2.2 Students’ difficulties in learning writing 2.3 The new “Tieng Anh 10” textbook Research methods 3.1 Participants and setting 3.2 Data source and research material 3.3 Data collection procedure Research schedule 4.1 Intervention Applications of the study in the Units Results PART III 10 24 CONCLUSION 27 PART I INTRODUCTION skkn Reason for choosing the study In the process of globalization, English plays an important role in enhancing economy, politics, culture and international relations between many countries Therefore, there is a great demand for teaching and learning English in the world as well as in Viet Nam English users today focus more on the ability to communicate in spoken and written languages However, the education quality has not met the society’s expectation because mostly high-school graduates cannot communicate in English effectively in both oral and written forms Under the urgent demand of improving the quality, Vietnam’s English language teaching has recently undergone a comprehensive reform Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has issued a new set of textbook for high school students in order to develop students’communicative competence The new textbook displays two new teaching approaches They are learner - centered and communicative approaches However, regarding Vietnam’s context, the change will create a lot of difficulties to teachers of English who are too familiar to old teaching methods, especially in teaching writing skill, which seems to be the most difficult work in teaching English At Nguyen Duy Trinh high school, teaching writing skills is really a big challenge One of the major reasons for students' low performance in writing; however, is the traditional methods adopted to teach this skill In fact teaching writing in this part of theword does not go far beyond: "the teacher assigns a topic, the students write and the teacher evaluates and (at his/her best) provides feedback"(Marshi& Henatabad 2011.p.79) Such an approach to teaching writing, in the researchers' point of view, is very unproductive and demotivating It induces the learners to develop negative attitudes towards writing To make teaching writing more fruitful and less boring, more modern innovative techniques such asgraphic organizers are worth considering and being utilized in teaching English writing Another problem is the students’ low level of English proficiency That is why they find it difficult to write Moreover, lack of motivation also faces the students They often get bored and indifferent in the writing lessons In my opinion, the current problem must be worked out and appropriate teaching techniques should be made Up to present, a few researches have been carried out on the teaching of writing for students in Nghe An As a teacher of English, who is aware of the fact, I wish to contribute some suggestions for possible improvements in the teaching and learning of writing skill by the means of graphicorganizers Purpose of the study skkn In response to the problem of students' insufficient writing ability, comes this research as an attempt to determine whether using graphic organizers helps to improve Nguyen Duy Trinh high school students' writing performance This research also intends to see how the use of such techniques impacts the students' attitudes towards writing 2.1 Hypotheses of the study Through the use of graphic organizers to teach writing, it is hypothesized that: 2.1.1 Students' writing performance will improve significantly This hypothes is is based on the assumption that graphic organizers provide scaffolding or support for new information, help to focus attention, organize information, select relevant vocabulary and offer a reminder for previous information 2.1.2 Students' attitudes towards writing will become more positive This hypothesis is based on the assumption that these organizers create an enjoyable learning atmosphere that enhances meaningful learning Hence they serve to improve performance and prevent frustration and boredom 2.2 Questions of the study This research is intended to answer two questions that are directly related to the above hypotheses What is the effect of using graphic organizers on students' writing performance? How does the use of graphic organizers impact the students' attitudes towards writing? 2.3 Significance of the study This research is significant as it attempts to investigate the impact graphic organizers may have on the writing ability and attitudes towards writing English th of the 10 grade students at Nguyen Duy Trinh high schools towards this significant skill This study is also significant because its results would demonstrate the viability of using such an occidental innovative technique; the th graphic organizers to improve the writing proficiency of a group of the 10 grade students as well as their attitudes towards this important skill If this technique proves to be useful, then it goes without saying that it will be adopted to teach this vital skill to attain better writing performance Better writing performance secures the academic future of the students and facilitates their educational progress PART II THE STUDY skkn Theoretical considerations 1.1 Definitions ofwriting There are a lot of definitions of writing According to Byrne (1991), writing can be defined as the act of forming graphic symbols When we write, we use graphic symbols (alphabet, grammar, and structures) to make visual meaningful utterances Therefore, on one level, writing can be said to be the act of making marks on flat surface of some kinds However, writing is not just simply putting words, sentences together Many researchers tended to focus on the nature of writing as an entity of linguistic creation Writing is also considered as a communicative process with purposeful interaction between the participants However, writing, in language teachers’ opinions, is a language skill which is difficult to acquire In short, the definitions of writing are various However, writing is characterized with some basic features, i.e being linguistics, creative, progressive and interactive Besides, the word “writing” itself may imply an act, a process, or a skill, which needs practice and study to develop It requires both physical and mental powers from the writers 1.2 The importance of writing Writing is a means to acquire and attain language, confirming that it is an important mode of communication through which life experience and personal views can be shared Writing is also described as skill that draws on the use of strategies to accomplish a variety of goals Writing is a means of extending and reinforcing knowledge Writing acts as an effective tool for acquiring new information 1.3 Difficulty of teaching writing Albeit the importance of writing, many scholars and researchers admit that teaching this skill is a complex and cumbersome process Teaching writing is just as complicated as writing itself, teaching writing is demanding and cumbersome As a teacher of writing for a long time, I acknowledge the difficulty and complexity of teaching English writing However, it should also be acknowledged that the traditional methods which are widely adopted to teach this skill in this part of the world is one of the major causes for the poor level of the students' writing performance 1.4 Effective writing teaching requirements Effective writing teaching requires the use of assistive devices to support and maintain the learning of this skill It is not enough for the teachers of writing to be highly qualified, but that their practices of instruction follow scientific based research There are some major principles of effective writing instruction These involve providing support for recognition through presentation, support for strategic learning through expression and support for affective learning through skkn engagement Use of mind mapsand graphics, says Strangman, provides the teacher with tools and strategies that help him/her to adhere to the above principles of effective writing teaching Currently, visual organizers are widely incorporated in teaching writing These tools are claimed to provide learners with a concrete structural framework of information and help to focus the learners' attention on key ideas and the conceptual relations between these ideas rather than the apparently isolated facts (Delrose, 2011) In fact, the use of graphic organizers enhances understanding, organizing and meaningful learning, and in this way facilitates the complex task of learning writing while serving to prevent boredom 1.5 Graphic organizers Graphic organizers are defined as visual displays of key content information designed to guide learners and to enhance their comprehension They are sometimes referred to as concept maps, cognitive maps, or content maps, but they are all used to serve one purpose They are meant to help students clearly see how ideas are organized within a text or surrounding a concept Through the use of organizers, learners acquire the structure of abstract concepts A graphic organizer is a visual graphic display that shows the relation between facts, terms or ideas within a learning task (Hall & Strangman,2002) The visual representation of graphic organizers provides learners with a structural framework of information to be learned This helps to direct the learners' attention to key concepts and conceptual relationships The use of such organizers, thus promotes understanding, and enhances organization and long term retention of information It stresses meaningful learning which serves to facilitate learning and minimize boredom 1.6 Students' attitudes towards writing The ability to write clearly, consciously and efficiently is important to achieve academic success However, many students have limited writing abilities and struggle to write compositions that adequately convey their thoughts and ideas Indeed, the writing process can be very cumbersome and difficult to master Actually many students are classified as low achievers in this skill This situation is quite frustrating and leads many students to develop negative attitudes towards this essential skill Educators can play a major role in helping students overcome this problem It is important for teachers to provide students with interesting, authentic and meaningful writing experiences (Chohan,2011) When these types of experiences are provided for the students, they become more engaged and interested in their learning According to Chohan (2011), writing is better learned when students are engaged, helped to organize their thoughts, and allowed to express their own experiences Lancaster (2013) reports that when students have the chance to participate in writing workshops and use a variety of graphic organizers, writing becomes meaningful, creative and more enjoyable Furthermore, when learners are offered the opportunity to practice writing under stress - free conditions, they become more comfortable and confident in the writing skkn process Teaching writing via the use of graphic organizers is meaningful and interesting because it effectively shows students' growth with respect to their writing abilities Lancaster (2013) confirms that the use of graphic organizers in teaching is one way to create a learning atmosphere where students love writing Teachers can prevent writing failure and students' frustration when successful, meaningful ways of teaching are used The reality of teaching and learning writing at Nguyen Duy Trinh high school 2.1 The teacher’s and students’ attitudes towards the teaching and learning of writing Writing is not highly appreciated by the students and even the teachers not take the importance of writing seriously This is because of the main purpose of teaching and learning English at Nguyen Duy Trinh high school The results of the final exam and university entrance exam are considered the most importance of teaching and learning English at school so both the teachers and students there focus mostly on grammar and reading skill rather than on other skills such as speaking, listening and writing This certainly affects the students’ writing competence and prevents the improvement of their writing ability Consequently, most of the teachers and the students think the students’ writing competence is bad 2.2 Students’ difficulties in learning writing The 10th form students at Nguyen Duy Trinhhigh school are sixteen years old Although they have been learning English for four years at lower - secondary schools, their English knowledge is still limited Besides, they have no clear determination on English learning goal Students have to face many difficulties that are from two causes: from the students themselves, and from the teachers’lectures In terms of the first cause, the majority of the students have trouble with writing because of their low level of English proficiency Their vocabulary and sentence structures are poor Grammar mistakes and spelling are also a common fear for many of them Besides, their low background knowledge also makesthem feel stressed when writing Many of the students said they found it hard to generate ideas and make an outline because of their low background knowledge.Their low motivation is also a problem These students consider the result of the exams as the most importance of their learning Therefore, they care much about grammar, structures and reading skill This, obviously, decreases their interest in writing Moreover, they consider time limitation as a trouble Many of them said they sometimes did not have enough time to complete writing tasks at class The main reason for this is because of their low level of English proficiency and low backgroundknowledge In terms of the second cause, the students not highly access their teachers’ assistance They find their teachers’ feedbacks are not comprehensive and their teachers’ instructions are not adequate skkn 2.3 The new “TiengAnh 10”textbook The new “TiengAnh 10” is the first of three - level English language set of textbooks for the Vietnamese upper secondary school It follows the systematic, cyclical and theme - based curriculum approved by the Minister of Education and rd Training on 23 November 2012 The aim of this set of textbooks is to develop students’ communicative competence in listening, speaking, reading and writing so that when finishing upper secondary school, students will achieve level three of the Vietnamese Foreign Language Competence Framework (equivalent to B1 in the Common EuropeanFramework of Reference for Languages) 2.3.1 Grade 10 writing objectives The aim of the course is to equip students with English writing skill for basic communication For grade 10 students, the objective is to develop students’ abilities to provide 150 - 180 word paragraphs or short essay on familiar topics 2.3.2 Writing lessons The writing subsection prepares students to cope with the two biggest problems they usually experience, which are lack of ideas and lack of necessary language to express ideas It often begins with a pre - writing activity that presents the topic and gives students an opportunity to brainstorm ideas related to the given topic In the following activity, useful phrases are presented and practiced so that students can use them later Sometimes, a model text is presented with one or two tasks for students to study its structure and format before producing their own text This approach to writing gives students some guidance so that they feel more confident and are better prepared for the writing task In order to realize the course objective, the writing section focuses on daily and popular topics The required competences and objectives of the writing lesson in each unit are detailed in the following table: Units Required tasks Family Life Writing about doing household chores Your body and you Writing about what to eat and not to eat Music Writing a biography 4.For a better Community Writing an application letter for volunteer work Inventions Writing about the benefits of an invention Gender Equality Writing about the disadvantages of working mothers Cultural Diversity Writing about some typical characteristics of Vietnamese people skkn New ways to learn Writing about the advantages of electronic devices as learning tools Preserving Writing about environmental problem and give the Environment some practical advice on how to preserve the environment 10 Ecotourism Writing a travel brochure promoting an ecotour Table 1: Checklist of writing tasks in TiengAnh 10 textbook Research methods 3.1 Participant and setting The participants of this study are the students from class 10D1 with 44 students They are chosen to be the first students to study the new textbook designed for those who have been studying English for 10 years from grade to grade 12 To study this textbook, students have to achieve level two of the Vietnamese Foreign Language Competence Framework (equivalent to A2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) However, the number of the students that can meet the requirement is very small, about 15 in the total of 44 students Consequently, I faced a lot of challenges when teaching students the new textbook, especially writing skill 3.2 Data sources and research material Both quantitative and qualitative methods are employed to carry out the study The study used three major instruments for data collection: a writing rubric (see App A), an attitudinal survey (see App B) and tests (see App.C) The writing rubric based on The Georgia Department of Education Scale was selected and modified by the researcher to assess the various traits of students' writing The second instrument used in this study was the attitude survey This survey was intended to measure the students' attitudes and feelings towards writing and their perceptions of the writing task Informal interviews with the colleagues and the students are also conducted Besides, reviewing the related documents is also a method to establish the theoretical background for the study 3.3 Data collection procedure: The data collection procedure is indicated in the following chart: 10 skkn Unit 5: INVENTIONS Writing about the benefits of an invention Choose one invention and write a paragraph about its benefits (The new “Tieng Anh 10” textbook– page 54, Volum 1) a Outline not using graphic organizers + Topic sentence: More and more people are using smartphones because of their benefits + Supporting ideas and explanations: Supporting idea and further explanations: For communication -> make phone calls, send and receive messages Supporting idea and further explanations: For entertainment -> listen to music, play games, read books Supporting idea and further explanations: For information -> surf the Web, use maps to look for places + Concluding sentence: In conclusion, a smartphone is one of the most important devices of modern life b Outline using graphic organizers Topic sentence Supporting idea 1\Benefit Supporting idea \ Benefit 2: Supporting idea 3\Benefit 3: Benefit 1: further explanations: further explanations: further explanations: 19 skkn Benefits of a smartphone For communication For entertainment Make phone call Send and receive message Listen to music Play games Read books For information Surf the Webs Use maps to look c Sample paragraph Smartphones have become increasingly important in modern life More and more people are using smartphones because of their benefits The first benefit of smartphones is they are useful for communication People can use them to make phone calls, send and receive messages With them, people can get in touch with their family and friends even though they are far away Another benefit of smartphones is that they can help people entertain themselves When they have free time, they can listen to music or play games on their smartphones They can also read a lot of interesting books An additional benefit of smartphones is that they give people useful information With a smartphone connected to the internet, people can surf the Web to get access to quite a few newspapers to get themselves updated with the latest news Moreover, with a smartphone, people are not afraid of getting lost because the map on their smartphone can help them look for places In conclusion, a smartphone is one of the most important devices of modern life 20 skkn ... NGUYỄN DUY TRINH - SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ĐỀ TÀI: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS - EFFECTIVE TOOLS FOR TEACHING WRITING SKILL IN THE NEW “TIENG ANH 10” TEXTBOOK GV: NGUYỄN THỊ THU HÀ MÔN: TIẾNG ANH Năm... of writing 1.3 Difficulty of teaching writing 1.4 Effective writing teaching requirements 1.5 Graphic organizers 1.6 Students’ attitudes towards writing The reality of teaching and learning writing. .. causes for the poor level of the students'' writing performance 1.4 Effective writing teaching requirements Effective writing teaching requires the use of assistive devices to support and maintain the